Today as I was walking from home, I saw the old man come from the hospital. Everyone was so kind to him. I saw a couple give away freshly baked bread to the beggar on the side of the road. I saw the happiness in his eyes. I saw a woman give away water bottles to the policemen doing their duty. I saw the satisfaction in their smiles.
I saw everyone applauding the nurse for doing her duty. I saw the tears of joy in her eyes. All these things give me hope. Hope that positivity and humanity existed in muses and smiles right round the corner. It made me believe that when you are at your lowest, and you feel like the world is giving up on you, it’s that hope whispers “one more time”. We are making it through trying times, no doubt. You’re battling your demons in the forms of anxiety, panic attacks, depression, etc.
You always found your calm in the chaos, but now you’re just entangled in a seamless void of quietness. You know that you have your family right next to you, but there’s something that pulls you back from sharing your woes with them. You don’t want to seem like a burden to them, right?
So you’ve been just bottling up all your emotions, frustrations inside that mind of yours? But may I tell you one thing? You will burst. Everyone and everything has a threshold. You’re limitless, no doubt but bottling up yourself is certainly not the solution. In fact, on the contrary. As much as you might think otherwise, your family will be more than happy to be a part of your life. They will be thrilled at the thought of their kid coming back to them.
You must be thinking, what more can they do than sit and probably listen to you? Well, buddy, trust me when I say this, the whole definition and concept of “Love” is way beyond the words of “I love you”. Love exists in Papa’s special cup of chai which he makes with a pinch of ginger and a touch of lemongrass.
Love exists in the rajma chawal that Mumma makes when you don’t even tell her. Love exists in the surprise chocolate that your elder sibling surprises you with, truly surprising which it is given you both are at your throat daily, ha-ha.
These are just a few numbers of the hundred million gestures that should mean the world to you rather than just “I love you”. A flicker of a smile that they see on your face makes their whole day. You have no clue of what a blessing you are to them, how you mean the world to them.
It’s time you stop hesitating to make that one phone call. That one call to a long-lost friend without whom it’s been a long day. The countless memories you made with them back in the day. The millions of smiles, the millions of tears. Will you let all those times simmer down to nothing?
Maybe it’s time for you to throw around a little bit of positivity like confetti? Do you know that sometimes or rather most of the time, it trickles down to intent? That one gesture doesn’t matter how big or small. At the end of the day, when you know that you’re one of the reasons behind that person’s smile, you will feel an infinite sense of calm. So, please pick up the phone and make that call, maybe they need a smile too.
I know you’re feeling disconnected staying home at this lockdown. You open Instagram to see everyone posting about how productive their day has been while all you just did was lie around in your PJs and read a book with cinnamon coffee.
Trust me, and if all you did today was breathe, I’m proud of you. It doesn’t matter that you’re any less productive if the only thing that you did today is to get up and breathe. It’s a lockdown, not a vacation and it’s completely okay if your routine has changed because life, as we know of it, transformed overnight for all of us.
But let me take you through all lessons that this entire period of a lockdown/ staying at home has taught you and me. There’s no dish you can’t recreate. Pizza? Toast some bread topped with vegetables and cheese (extra cheese, there’s nothing called too much cheese). Chocolate cake? Pour in some flour, cocoa, and eggs into a mug and push it into a microwave. You’re going to get a call from Master chef anytime now. The minute inconveniences you to whine about? It doesn’t matter if it’s hot or cold or raining, you at least have a roof over your head.
You don’t have to keep pushing yourself to be productive. Your mental health and your peace matter are a lot more than how many songs you’ve learned on the ukulele. You owe your sanity to your friends and family who’ve been there through your anxiety and stress with baking banana bread, Netflix binges, and warm hugs.
So, all I want to say is, you’re whole. For all the places you haven’t been to, the movies you haven’t watched, the dogs you haven’t played with. The sunsets you haven’t watched, the songs you haven’t heard, the smiles you haven’t found, the hands are waiting to be held, the cups of coffee waiting to be drunk hang in there.
The thing is, there is a lot to be looking forward to, more than just what you think.
Lexicon Management Institute of Leadership and Excellence can take you places!
Lexicon Management Institute of Leadership and Excellence is a part of the Pune-based Lexicon Group of Institutions, established in 2006. The Lexicon Group of Institutions includes Schools, Pre-schools, and Schools for specially-abled students along with the Lexicon Management Institute of Leadership and Excellence.
Lexicon MILE was established in 2009. The total number of students in the Lexicon Group of Institutions is more than 10,000. Lexicon Management Institute of Leadership and Excellence has state-of-the-art teaching aids and the “Innovation & Incubation Centre” to promote entrepreneurship and start-up culture.
Lexicon MILE which is top PGDM and MBA college in India operates a Centre for Excellence (CoX) to further academia-industry interface through research and consultation work beneficial for industries involving its students with experienced Professors/Researchers.
Lexicon Management Institute of Leadership and Excellence believes in the “One Student a Time” approach to build exclusivity in students through fundamental academic processes, robust evaluation methods, innovative induction, strong internship systems, and exposure to managing world-class events. Lexicon Management Institute of Leadership and Excellence prepares the students to be industry-ready through various academic and extra-curricular exposures.
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